During a press conference at the ongoing 2017 Africa Export-Import Bank Annual General Meeting, (AfreximAGM) taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank, Dr Benedict Oramah said that Rwanda is a shining star that other African economies need to emulate.

“Rwanda has risen to become a shining star of the continent in terms of good governance, can do spirit and much more, Intra-African,” said Benedict Oramah

Rwanda, only widely known for the genocide, which began in 1994, has fast become an event destination in Africa because of its safety. Rwanda has dramatically transformed its economy, emerging as a regional high-tech hub that boasts one of sub-Saharan Africa’s fastest GDP growth rates. It is one of the continent’s most competitive economies and a top reformer in improving the business environment. Rwanda is now among the top five leading countries in the continent in terms of intra-African trade.

What has Rwanda done to boost its intra-African-trade?

According to Claver Gatete, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Republic of Rwanda is doing a lot to remove the barriers that will hinder intra-African trade.

“We are trying to remove the barriers in movement such as allowing people within the region you to travel to other parts of East Africa with just an ID card

“Applying for visa has been made easy: People from other African countries can apply for visa on arrival but those who are not Africans can apply online”

“We are finding a way to contributing to inter-African movement that is why we now have the RwandAir”

What has Rwanda done to become a leading example for other African countries?

The President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank, Dr Benedict Oramah further gave his reasons why he said that Rwanda is a shining star that other African countries should follow.

“Rwanda has shown that they can open a border without being overrun by other people.”

“You can see what leadership and followership has done in Rwanda”

“We have also seen the dynamism of the civil service. When Government officials give you a time for activities you will find out that the project would be completed before the time that they gave to you. “

“Rwanda is also becoming a leader in exports and manufacturing “

“Rwanda is a country that will also help to drive development in Africa. All the things that we thought were not possible have been shown by Rwanda to be possible.”